News & Events

03.06.2020

Updated urban-rural classification: Finland’s degree of urbanisation currently at over 72 per cent

According to the urban-rural classification updated by the Finnish Environment Institute, more than 72 per cent of the Finnish population now reside in the urban areas of the country. The degree of urbanisation has increased more than two percentage...

Turning the spotlight on insects

The European Union's (EU) network of Natura 2000 conservation areas is designed to protect endangered animal and plant species and their habitats. But it also benefits a large number of non-target species. However, these beneficiaries are unevenly...

Deforestation and forest degradation a major threat to global biodiversity

The 2020 edition of The State of the World's Forests (SOFO), published last week, calls for urgent action to safeguard the biodiversity of the world's forests amid alarming rates of deforestation and degradation.

Dry weather reduces crop yield expectations in much of the EU

Climate change: now is the moment to rebuild better

The urgency of actions to recover from the COVID-19 crisis must not deter long-term climate objectives. The recovery efforts must seize the opportunity to increase the resilience of our society, especially to climate impacts.

Environmental footprint method to support the assessment of climate impacts of public procurements

The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method developed by European Commission is used to assess the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycles. A new study by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) proposes that this method...

CO2 emissions from dry inland waters globally underestimated

Inland waters such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Calculations that scale up the carbon dioxide emissions from land and water surface areas do not take account of inland waters that dry out...

Food insecurity and the knock-on effects of COVID-19 in the hungriest countries

The number of people battling acute hunger and suffering from malnutrition is on the rise again. The upheaval set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic may push even more families and communities into deeper distress.

Environmental monitoring at mine sites in Greenland

Mining in Greenland began in the 1850s with the opening of the cryolite mine in Ivittuut in South Greenland. Since then, mining for lead, zinc, silver, gold, olivine, rubies and feldspar has taken place at a number of mine sites. Mining activities at...